


Unexpected Loss

by BrokenBookAddict



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Heartbreaking, Heavy Angst, Love, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Secret Relationship, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:40:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28961847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrokenBookAddict/pseuds/BrokenBookAddict
Summary: What started out as any other day, quickly turns to the unexpected.
Relationships: Caitlin Snow/Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	Unexpected Loss

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own the flash/characters.

....... ....... ....... 

This is without question one of the hardest things he's ever had to experience and considering his past, where there has been plently of heartache, that says a lot. There had been the time where he lost his wife and where for a time he'd lost Jesse to Zoom. The feeling of helplessness he felt so acutely back then, so deep and strong within him, resurfaced once again like an old friend. 

What can he possibly do to make any of this better? 

He has no answer. 

Simply none. 

Becauses there isn't anything that can make this better. There's nothing that can take away the feeling of utter despair and heartbreak... for him, but most importantly for _her_. 

Watching her today, having to stand by and watch, feeling completely useless, had simply crushed him. 

It feels a thousand times more crushing when he looks at her now still able to see the remnants of tears still evident upon her pretty yet pale cheeks after she finally slipped into a restless sleep. Dead to the world for a short time but also dead to her feelings, a short respite before she wakes to remember all to clearly what brought them to this moment here today. 

All to easily and without any effort to think back, Harry can recall the desperation in shouts and actions from both Cisco and Iris.

_It had all started as any other morning. They woke up, showered, dressed and had breakfast together. They talked over shared coffee and croissants, his enquiry of her health after feeling unwell the day before had been met positively._ _Then he'd kissed her goodbye and left for the lab before her like normal._

_Nothing out of the ordinary until later._

_An hour later, that's all it took. An hour to rock their world._

_He made his way to the cortex after finishing up in his work room, ready to establish a new security protocol once again after the latest big bad broke in and attacked them. Situations such as that is becoming rather tedious after all._

_Closer to the entrance of the cortex, Iris panicked voice could be heard as it clashed harshly with that of Cisco's as he shouted over the building comms for the missing members of their team._

_"Medical emergency! Guys, I need you in the cortex. Now!"_

_Harry's pace increased as he closed the distance when Barry appeared in a flash of lightening, both men simultaneously make their way over the threshold to investigate what's wrong and offer any possible assistance._

_Except they both completely freeze immediately upon the scene before them._

_Iris holds Caitlin upright who's hunched over, hands clutching her stomach as blood gushes down her legs._

_Time seemed to stand still as Harry stared at her completely stricken. Somewhere in the background Barry started speaking as he moved forward. Nothing cuts through the haze in his head until her choked sob ripped from her throat which is instantly followed by his name so desperate from her lips and his coffee fell to the floor unnoticed as he closed the distance between them._

_The look of terrified confusion on her face was something he would never forget as she finally laid eyes on him._

_Cisco automatically stepped back to allow him by her side when she started to cry. Sobs so gut wrenching they tore at his heart._

_"Caitlin..."_

_Neither Caitlin nor Harry saw the way the boys or Iris' eyes widen at the stricken use of her first name. Something he very rarely uses, if ever, at least in the presence of others. Privately, it's spoken often, of course._

_"I think I'm having a--" she stopped as she doubled over again. Her face scrunched up as she blindly reached out for Harry, her fingers curled into his sweater at his chest._

_"Caitlin, what--" he bent over to catch her eyes. "What's wrong? Talk to me?"_

_"A miscarriage," she gasps out through tears. "I-I think I'm having a miscarriage."_

_The words hit like a fucking freight train. Out of nowhere and deadly._

_"Sweetheart."_

_Disbelief drenched the choked sound of the endearment and it caused her sobs to intensify as she fell into him._

_No hesitation came on his part as he swiftly scooped her up into his arms before turning desperate eyes to Cisco._

_A breach opened immediately and Harry stepped through into the emergency room of Central City hospital feeling his world slowly collapsing all around him._

_Not long after their arrival it was confirmed. Caitlin had suffered an ectopic pregnancy at 11 weeks._

_The look on her face as the doctor confirmed her suspicions further broke his heart. The initial shock quickly dissipated. The tears had fallen in torrents soon after, sobs racked her frame as she clung to him and his heart broke further with each passing second...._

Later, through tears she told him she suspected a pregnancy but hadn't confirmed her suspicions. The words spoken buried in his chest still echo clear in his head, set only to torture him. 

_"I would have wanted it so much, Harry."_

And Harry couldn't agree more. The thought so enticing, of Caitlin with a baby cradled in her arms, of her chasing a toddler so like herself... 

Harshly he shoves away the images, banishes it to the darkest part of his mind. 

Leaning forward, his lips brush her cheek delicately. His forehead rests against her own for the briefest of moments, taking a deep breath to allow the scent of her to invade his every sense, before the doorbell draws him away from where he's currently sitting on the floor beside the couch. 

His feet drag as he warily crosses to the door, yanking it open he's faced with Cisco and Iris standing there on the doorstep solemnly, a big bag of takeout in the latter's hands. 

"Hi Harry," Iris greets quietly, eyes sweeping over him head to foot taking in his grey sweat pants and black tee. He looks awful, the stress of the day weighing heavily upon him. 

"What are you doing here?" Harry asks quietly, leaning against the door not making any move to offer them inside. 

"We know it's late but we just wanted to stop by, drop off some food and--" Cisco trails off, looking lost. "Check in, you know." 

The concern is clear from their friends and it is appreciated, it really is. Its touching, this gesture of their visit. It means more than they could possibly know. 

"How is Caitlin?" Iris asks softly, eyes straying behind him to the women curled up asleep on the couch. "How are you?"

"I--" Harry swallows hard, shifting on his feet as he struggles to find words capable of describing how the woman he loves is currently feeling, which also extends to himself. "I don't know." 

The despair and defeat in those three words are unmissable. 

A heavy pause settles between the three friends and team mates. 

Iris bites her lip, sadness filling her every fibre as the sound of Caitlin's cries from this morning echo in her mind. "It's okay Harry. We just wanted to check in. Barry is at CCPD but sends his love. Don't worry about the lab, we have that covered so take as long as you both need." She steps forward to hand over the Chinese takeout, quickly squeezing his arm as she does. 

"Thank you-- both of you." He pauses to take a breath. There's another thing as well to address, something important. "I know this wasn't the best way to find out we were--" 

Cisco waves his words away. "That doesn't matter now. Just-- take care of her." He flicks his eyes behind the older man before him to where his best friend is sleeping. "I'll call tomorrow, see how she is."

Harry nods. 

Its quite clear none of them really know what more to say. 

So for now, they simply leave it like this. More can come in the days, weeks that will follow. Support and love to be given. 

So Iris steps back, offering what she hopes is an encouraging smile. "We'll see you in a few days, Harry." 

Watching them walk away, he lingers in the doorway before finally shutting it softly. His forehead rests against the wood, the takeout cradled in his arm as he takes a shuddering breath. 

"Harry?" 

Caitlin's voice, rough both from crying and restless sleep, cuts through the silence.

"I'm here." 

Pushing away from the door, he leaves the takeout on the table near the door, neither hungry at this point and not likely to be and moves to the couch, sliding in behind her when she sits up. Surrounding her in his arms, his lips brush her forehead as her fingers curl into his tee. 

Caitlin clings to him, drawing strength from him he doesn't feel he has within. 

"We'll be okay, right?" 

So quiet, so broken is the question and Harry hugs her closer. Her sobbing apologises from her hospital bed jump to the forefront of his mind. 

His lips brush her crown, his words ghost against her skin. 

"We're going to be just fine, sweetheart. I promise." 

And they will be. They will overcome this unexpected loss and become stronger, the love between them far deeper because of it.

The end. 

...... ...... .......

**Author's Note:**

> This is a lot more angsty than I usually delve into but this idea has been lingering with me a while. So here we are. Some sad Snowells. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! ❤


End file.
